Hollow Target
by Ria D'Arcy
Summary: *NEW VERSION* Chiara Dauphine is the daughter of a prominent Mafia family. With only one friend to her name and a family who can barely communicate with her because of a horrific childhood event, what will happen when everything begins picking up? A threat against her life and friendly enemies are what awaits this girl. Will she survive to see the end? *I do not own HxH characters*


I kept my eyes closed as I snuggled into the soft hotel bed. I was still so tired after last night. I had returned sometime after midnight, much to my irritation. Social events were hardly my idea of a good time, but father had _insisted_ I go as the Dauphine Family representative.

A sigh came from my lips as I reluctantly focused my hazel gaze on the ceiling, unable to return to sleep.

_At least I get to go home today_, I thought with a wry twist of my lips. Yeah, like I was _so_ eager to return to that place. Father would just find another way to get rid of me soon enough, he always found a reason to kick me from the house so he wouldn't have to look at me.

I ran my fingers through my brown hair as I lay on my back. It was long… and knotted, I realized with a wince as a particular knot caught on my fingers and I pulled too sharply.

_Maybe I should just cut it…_ but my hair was my shield. I hid behind it, trying not to interact more than necessary with the population.

**_What do you see… when you look at __**me**__?_

_A smile? A frown? _

_Or am I just a simple clown?**_

I smiled as I turned to pick up my mobile from the bedside table. There was only one contact I had with that ringtone.

I flipped it open just as the second chorus of the song began and brought it to my ear to greet,

"Hisoka!" in an overly cheerful tone.

"Chia~chan is so loud this morning." He purred and my smile widened. Only then did my eyes look to the red numbers of the alarm clock. Was it really only just past eight? I groaned, wishing I could have slept longer.

"So why are you calling so early?" I asked, sitting on the edge of the mattress as I stretched out my back.

"You are on your way home today, yes?"

"Mmm… Why do you ask?" I countered, knowing he was planning something.

"Before your flight back to that _boorish_ house, why not spend the rest of the morning with me, ne~? We can go anywhere you want~" His voice took on the singsong quality that only happened when Hisoka was bored or pouting. "Don't turn me down Chia~chan…"

Oh he was _so_ pouting. But I could never say no when he sounded like this.

"Meet me in front of my hotel in an hour, I'll think of something." He happily agreed before hanging up, leaving me to sit and think.

What could we possibly do with the few short hours we had? There was no issue of cost; Hisoka seemed to be just as wealthy as my family. But we had done virtually _every_thing we could think of in the past few years.

So what was left?

I sighed deeply and went to shower. I had an hour to get ready and think of an answer.

* * *

My pale hand against the white tiles of the shower was what kept me upright as a wave of dizziness crashed over me. The sensation of the water running down my skin receded as my vision narrowed, black swimming around the edges of whatever I looked at.

I took a deep breath, feeling the shaking of my legs before they gave out completely. My body crashed against the bottom of the tub, the back of my head slamming against the wall hard enough that I very nearly blacked out.

I lay crumpled like that, wondering, until the water ran cold. The shock of the cold hitting my fevered skin sent a jolt through me. I sat up too quickly, feeling the blood drain from my face and my stomach rolled. My left hand floundered about the tap until I finally succeeded in turning it off.

I stayed like that, legs tucked beneath me, hunched over with my arms supporting half my weight and my drenched hair falling down my back and over my shoulder like a veil.

I inspected my left wrist critically, relieved there was no fresh wound.

Another couple of deep breaths and then I hesitantly stood up. Thankful most of my strength had returned.

I pulled the fluffy hotel-provided towel around me and stood like that, water pooling onto the floor around my feet. Using the corner of the towel I wiped the steam from the mirror and stared at my reflection. My skin was quickly losing the red tint from the shower, revealing a paler than usual complexion. My eyes were bloodshot, regardless that I had slept peacefully the night before.

I paused at that thought. I could not remember the last time I had slept so peacefully. I tried to recall last night, but the only memory that filtered through was a half remembered dance with a partner whose face was a blur…

I jumped as my phone rang out in the silence of the hotel room. Hastily wrapping the towel to cover myself I opened the door of the small bathroom to clearly hear Hisoka's ringtone. Why?

I snatched up the phone.

"Hisoka?"

"Chia~chan's late~"

"Shit!" I panicked as my eyes confirmed the time was past nine. I ran back to the bathroom where my clothes were. Holding the phone between my ear and my shoulder as I began to dress. "Sorry, sorry! Give me five minutes and I'll be down."

"Hmm, I'll be waiting~" Hisoka laughed as he hung up. Dropping the mobile onto the counter I snapped my bra on and pulled a blue shirt over my head. My hair was still damp, so I caught it up and braided it without taking the time to run a brush through. Hisoka wouldn't care.

Once that was done I grabbed my phone, pulled open the door to the hallway, snagging my jacket and purse which rested on a hook on the back of it, and nearly took off. Before the door could fully close on me, I pushed it open and snatched up my sandals from the floor.

Shoes were a good thing when going out.

* * *

"Chia~chan!" Hisoka waved frantically from where he stood next to his sleek black sports car. He was dressed in a pair of black jeans and a button down red shirt with the first button undone. His face was free of any and all face-paint, a stipulation if he wanted to hang out with me in public I had forced him into last year. I still wasn't entirely sure how though. Unfortunately, I had been unable to talk him into keeping his hair down at the same time. The red strands were spiked up and back, forming what I had always thought looked like a triangle.

I raced over to him, hopping occasionally as I pulled my sandals on. Hisoka grabbed me around the waist as soon as he could and spun me about, like those cheesy romance movies.

"Hi." I giggled as he finally put me down.

"Has my darling Chia-chan decided what mischief we will be getting into today?"

"Hey! The last time we hung out it wasn't _my_ fault it turned out the way it did. If you had just controlled your urge to _flirt_ with that guy I'm sure his fiancée would not have decided you needed a little 'cooling down'."

Watching Hisoka get drenched by that drink was only half as funny as what followed immediately afterwards. He had asked that same woman to _dance with him_ while his hair was still dripping.

I laughed aloud as I remembered the priceless look on her face.

"How about we start with breakfast?" Hisoka suggested with a smirk as he held the car door open for me. I gave my consent with a nod of my head and a smile on my lips.

"How about Flappy Jack's Pancake Bar?" I suggest as he put the vehicle into drive. That was the only place I knew where I could order a drink with breakfast. And this morning, I really felt like having a drink.

* * *

_A/N: HEY! Lookie who's back with this! _

_Chiara: RIA! *tackle hugs*_

_A/N: GAH! Hahaha Chia! *pushes her off me as I get up* Well that was certainly a warm welcome._

_Chiara: How could you have DITCHED ME LIKE THAT?!_

_A/N: Sorry! *hides face* But at least I'm back... and actually thinking this story through. I know the characters, I know where the story is going, and I know where it will end. The only thing now is to actually write it and hope I don't screw up._

_For readers who read the original **Hollow Target** you will be experiencing deja-vu on multiple occasions. I am constantly looking back to the original chapters, trying to incorporate old elements and new elements. So let me know what you think, please? _

_The chapters will be few and far between, I will be working slowly so I can get this story up to a level where I am happy with it. Oh, and I promise to try and keep the A/Ns to a minimum (this one being the exception). Yes they will still be "conversations" but I promise to try and limit them to a few lines at the end of each chapter ^^_

_Just a final FYI: Chia in this is slightly older than the previous version, Illumi is not technically a main character though he will be showing up 'cause I still need him, and Hisoka will be OOC unless I can finally figure out how to write "normal" lines for him :/ I wish me luck and I hope my readers do too _


End file.
